I’m calling it: Social networking is over | Computerworld

The idea was that you could sign up for a social network like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr, Flickr or Reddit and connect with old friends and acquaintances, make new ones or even interact with strangers about your life.

Except that Twitter was really a “micro-blogging” site, LinkedIn was about finding a job, Pinterest was a pinboard site, Instagram and Flickr were photo-sharing sites, Tumblr was a social-blogging platform, Reddit was a social bookmarking site and who knows what Google+ ever was?

If you’re not paying for it, you’re the product. I limited my use of Facebook Messenger after ads started appearing for products that were discussed in a conversation. That’s a little too close for comfort.